Policy Board Minutes –Jan. 26, 2011
UC 503
Present: Robin Buccheri, Ted Matula, Paul Zeitz, Joe Garity, Terry Patterson, Brian Weiner, John
Koeplin, Manuel Tarrazo, M. Ellene Egan, Michelle LaVigne, James Taylor, Elliot Neaman, Xornam
Apedoe, Willie MeLaugh, Devon Holmes, David Stump, Julia Orri
Guests: Dorothy Kidd from Media Studies, Janice Dirden-Cook from Upward Bound; seven other
USFFA members
Approval of minutes from our last meeting was put off until he next meeting to make sure all had a
chance to review them.
Announcements:
1) John Koeplin, SJ will be leaving the Policy Board in order to begin his new position as Superior
Rector. He will remain on the Board of Trustees.
2) Sat. May 14 has been tentatively set for the Retirement and Awards Dinner. MeLaugh will continue as
chair of the social committee for one more semester. Selection of a venue is needed. The dinner is free to
USFFA members and their guests.
3) The Benefits Task Force is up and running, with seventeen members (five from the Policy Board:
Neaman, Weiner, Egan, Patterson and Zeitz). The goal of the task force is to maintain benefits at
competitive levels while reducing costs. Neaman said that while the USFFA is interested in working with
the administration on reviewing benefits with an eye to reducing total costs, he hoped that making them
more efficient would increase, not decrease the value of individual benefits. He emphasized that any
change to benefits must be negotiated at the bargaining table. An online survey will be sent out next
week. Zeitz warned that it may induce panic. No part-time representation is on the task force. Jake
McGoldrick explained that the administration felt that it was for full-time employees only.
4) Neaman suggested that each PB member take a new faculty member out to lunch to introduce them to
the USFFA, and explain the bargaining process. Neaman said he had the feeling there was some
complacency out there, which was, on the one hand positive, since it meant our members were generally
happy, but it could be negative if indifference set in just as we are gearing up for negotiations. Buccheri
stated that the School of Nursing has always had a practice of taking new faculty out for lunch.
5) Holmes met with the Sociology faculty regarding the pending negotiations. Their main concerns were:
childcare, retirement, benefits, teaching matrix, tuition remission, transparency, definition of “superior” in
tenure and promotion, and LDA benefits.
6) Weiner added one new item to the negotiations list, a “backup plan” for when scheduled daycare (or
eldercare) is not available. He reported on a program used at Princeton University by Katrina Olds
(History), where an agency sends over a substitute care-provider. Costs would be shared by USF and
USFFA member.
7) Neaman stated that the list of negotiating items will be narrowed down from around 25 at present to a
manageable amount (it was 17 in 2008, perhaps also too many). There will be a general meeting in
February, followed by a meeting in May to vote on the items.
New Business:
I. Guest Dorothy Kidd discussed the recent closing of KUSF. Neaman stated that while Article 15 of the
CBA (Management Rights) gives the administration the right to alter, cancel, change or discontinue
operations, that doesn’t mean the USFFA can’t put pressure on the administration when it makes unwise
decisions, doesn’t consult or doesn’t follow best practices. Kidd stated that her main goals were to (1)
have the USFFA take a stand to rescind the deal, (2) convert the present facilities at KUSF to a digital
format, and (3) potentially file a grievance, for a pedagogical violation of her contract, since the media
studies program is based on a partnership and no negotiations were involved. Background information on
the sale: USC bought the classical station KDFC but did not get their frequency (102.1). They
subsequently purchased KUSF’s frequency (90.3) for $3.7 million. The FDC has 30 days to approve the
sale. Kidd feels that the sale reflected abrupt and arbitrary decision making on the administration’s part.
The USF students who worked at the radio station were locked out of the building as extra security was
present (provided by the administration). A meeting at the Presentation Theater was held where the
administration answered questions. Students were very angry. Kidd stated that there is strong support for
rescinding the sale, from City Hall (6 supervisors) to Marcelo Camperi. She pointed out that Loyola
Marymount was successful in getting their radio station sale rescinded. Kidd also feels that KUSF is
essential to the project-based learning focus at USF and very valuable to the community. She said that she
felt that her contractual obligations as a teacher were being violated.
Neaman stated that in order to file a grievance there needs to be a concrete violation of the CBA and
offered his view that the legal road was perhaps not the best path to follow in fighting this decision to
close KUSF. He asked about the administration’s assertion that most of the employees at KUSF were not
USF students. Bernadette Barker-Plummer replied that 24 USF students were involved in the audio class
per semester, which is 25% of the media studies major. Patterson inquired about the non-disclosure
statement. Kidd stated that this occurred once the offer was on the table. Barker-Plummer suggested that
the sale may have been planned for some time. Zeitz asked why the sale was not proposed a year ago with
a possible conversion to a digital-based format. Zeitz observed that had the sale of KUSF been made
public, there may have been time to have a serious dialogue among the stake-holders and it may even
have been possible for a group of local buyers to emerge. Neaman asked whether the SF Supervisors
could actually stop the sale. McGoldrick said no, but there may be potential for help at the state level. A
90 day continuance is needed. Neaman stated that the PB needs to evaluate what has been presented today
and make some decisions about what concrete actions to take by the next meeting at latest. Kidd was
meeting with the lawyers and will report back to the PB. Taylor was concerned that this case may be
related to the departure of the Upward Bound program at USF; a recent trend in the decline in
community-based services.
II. Guest Janice Dirden-Cook discussed the exit of the Upward Bound program. Background: the Upward
Bound program began at USF in 1966, under the War and Poverty programs. It is a college-preparatory
program for low income high school students, providing tutoring and assistance with the college
application process, as well as math and science education. On Nov. 8, 2010 the staff was notified that the
program would no longer be housed at USF, and the contract would be allowed to expire in 2012. DirdenCook questioned the administration’s argument that budget constraints are involved since the program is
federally-funded. Neaman asked about the interaction between Upward Bound and USF faculty. DirdenCook responded that the program meets the mission at USF and interacts with the School of Education.
Tarrazo asked whether the program hired USF students, which was confirmed by Dirden-Cook. Taylor
expressed his concern regarding the image of USF, especially our presence in many parts of the world,
but apparent lack of visibility in low-income neighborhoods of SF such as the Fillmore and Baywiew. A
general discussion ensued in which many PB members and guests expressed feelings of dismay that the
USF could so cavalierly close a program with so many benefits for the community, especially since it
corresponded to USF’s image for promoting social justice.
Meeting adjourned at 5:20.
Submitted by Julia Orri, Secretary.